Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) -- All eight Republicans on the Senate
Judiciary Committee sent a letter asking Attorney General Eric
Holder about any role the Justice Department may have had in
President Barack Obama’s decision to make four high-profile
recess appointments this week.

The Republican senators, led by Charles Grassley of Iowa,
said Obama’s decision to name a consumer financial watchdog and
three National Labor Relations Board members departs from past
views of some Justice Department officials that recess
appointments probably can’t be made if Congress takes a brief
break that lasts only for a few days.

The senators asked whether the Justice Department offered
legal advice to the president before he bypassed the Senate and
made the appointments this week.

“This action was allegedly based upon legal advice
provided to the president by the Office of White House
Counsel,” the eight wrote to Holder. The senators said they
want to know what role the Justice Department played “in
developing, formulating or advising the White House on the
decision to make these recess appointments.”

They also asked whether the Justice Department has formally
changed its views on recesses.

Year of Delays

In the House, other Republicans were also seeking
information. Two lawmakers sent letters today to the NLRB and
the White House counsel’s office seeking documents about the new
labor board members’ qualifications and the president’s
authority to appoint them. The letters were signed by
Representative John Kline of Minnesota, chairman of the
Education and Workforce Committee, and Representative Phil Roe
of Tennessee, chairman of the Subcommittee on Health,
Employment, Labor and Pensions.

Obama on Jan. 4 installed Richard Cordray as head of the
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and appointed three members
to the NLRB: Sharon Block, Terence Flynn and Richard Griffin.
Cordray’s placement followed a year of delays by Senate
Republicans, who said they opposed him because they believe the
bureau’s powers are too broad.

Obama’s action was supported by Democratic leaders in the
House and Senate and drew sharp rebukes from House Speaker John
Boehner of Ohio and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of
Kentucky, both Republicans.

Constitutional Power

The Constitution gives presidents the power to make
appointments when the Senate is in recess. Republicans won
bipartisan agreement to keep Congress in pro forma sessions
every three days through the holidays to keep Obama from making
recess appointments.

For more than two decades, lawmakers have used the practice
of holding such sessions every three days, with the view that it
would avoid a recess when appointments could be made.

Tracy Schmaler, a Justice Department spokeswoman, declined
to respond to the letter, instead referring to earlier comments
by White House officials defending the legality of the
appointments.

In the letter, the Republican senators said that in 1921
the attorney general issued an opinion to the president saying
it would be unlikely anyone would view the Senate as being out
of session under the Constitution if it adjourned for two days,
or perhaps as many as 10.

Postal Service

In a 1993 case involving the Postal Service Board of
Governors, Justice Department lawyers argued that presidents can
make recess appointments when the Senate is out of session for
more than three days. The court papers suggested that a
president might lack that authority during shorter breaks.

“Taken together, these authorities by the Department
clearly indicate the view that a congressional recess must be
longer than three days -- and perhaps at least as long as 10 --
in order for a recess appointment to be constitutional,” they
wrote.

In addition to Grassley, senators signing the letter to
Holder were Orrin Hatch of Utah, Jon Kyl of Arizona, Jeff
Sessions of Alabama, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, John
Cornyn of Texas, Mike Lee of Utah and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma.